Two Tassels
maker
Unknown
Dateabout 1561-1568
Place MadeScotland, Europe
MediumSilk, velvet
Dimensions2 cm (13/16 in.)
ClassificationsTextile Arts
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberT27e822.1-2
eMuseum ID727878
EmbARK ObjectID12512
TMS Source ID1618
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThese small tassels were purportedly snipped from the Holyrood Castle bed of Mary Queen of Scots. Mary Stuart held a special fascination for Isabella Stewart Gardner, who felt a kinship to the persecuted queen for their shared surname. In tribute to her imagined ancestor, Gardner placed these intimate relics on display in the museum’s Long Gallery.
BibliographyNotesDakota Jackson, "The Relics of Mary, Queen of Scots," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 26 January 2021, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/relics-mary-queen-scots
MarksNotesInscribed in Isabella Stewart Gardner's hand (on a note accompanying the tassels): From the bed of Mary Queen of Scots, Holyrood Castle.
ProvenanceNotesPossibly from the bed of Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587), Holyrood Castle, Scotland.
Entered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection at an unknown date.
Entered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection at an unknown date.
Object/Provenance
